An Extremist for Love, Truth and Goodness

One hundred and fifty people who looked like the kingdom of God gathered in our sanctuary on Martin Luther King's birthday. Most of us were African-American, a good number were white, several were Asian and many were Latino. We were there to continue the work of justice that began with Jesus Christ and has been carried forward by countless saints throughout the centuries.

Dr. King focused American Christians on racial and economic justice, as well as the need for peace. On Monday, all of us were empowered to work for justice for people of color who receive substandard care in nursing homes; to work for justice for thousands of children whose parents are serving jail terms; to work for justice for young men who are African-American who are suspended and expelled at two or three times the rate of white teens in Chicago public schools.

It is hard for many of us middle class, white, moderate Christians to embrace the work of justice, because it leads to conflict, tension, political advocacy, and hard work. Justice is not achieved easily and it is not achieved quickly. But it can be achieved, when we look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

I was inspired this week to read one of Dr. King's most impassioned writings: "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Dr. King describes Jesus as "an extremist for love, truth and goodness, who rose above his environment." We have enough examples in our world of extremists for injustice. Dr. King calls those of us who are white moderates to engage in "creative extremism." He calls us to rise above our comfortable circumstances and use our power to lift up those who are marginalized.

How can we do work that is so challenging, so spiritually demanding? We can do it because in our baptism we are revealed as children of God, filled with the Holy Spirit. In this season of Epiphany, we recall that our baptism reveals us as children of the Light. Because we have received baptism in the Spirit, we are empowered to bring others into the Light. We can do this work because we are not alone; we join with other people of faith, and we are led by the example of Jesus Christ.

Our work of justice continues around the year, not just on Dr. King's Birthday. The Faith in Action Committee has organized issue teams around economic sustainability, education and mentoring, affordable housing and advocacy. I look forward to the day when most of our members will be part of one of these justice-seeking teams, because Dr. King was right when he said, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.

Read Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Become part of the movement to bring God's kingdom to earth, for we are marching in the light of God.

Humbled by an Epiphany

There are many ways to be humbled.

There’s the humility you feel when you do something ditzy. It’s rather painful. You want to rewind the tape and do it over again.

There’s the humility you feel when you realize your limitations. Also painful, it happens to me in boot camp classes at the gym. Some ab exercises will always be out of my reach.

There’s the humility you feel when you fail at something that matters to you, especially when you were trying your best to succeed.

And then there’s the humility you feel when you witness something truly great, and it inspires you to keep aiming for greatness. It makes you believe greatness is within your grasp. It amazes you to realize that greatness is something that still exists in this world.

That kind of humility is an epiphany.

That is the humility the wise men felt when they met a toddler named Jesus. This humble two-year-old king -- living in a house in Bethlehem rather than a palace in Jerusalem -- had the power to humble them, and they knelt to pay him homage.

These days we call that worship.

It can happen to us in the strangest places.

It happens when we kneel down and let go of our treasure. We realize we have found something even more precious.